The shift from car ownership to mobility-as-a-service, along with the increased adoption of electric vehicles (EVs), is drastically altering the automotive and mobility ecosystem.

While this transformation is years in the making, we’re just now starting to feel its concrete impact on everything from tech to consumer demand – and what that could mean for your business model.

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The rise of C.A.S.E vehicles calls for hyperconnected brand experiences

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The automotive industry is undergoing rapid transformation with the rise of Connected, Autonomous, Shared/Subscription and Electric (C.A.S.E.) vehicles. We’re starting to see the tangible impact of this shift with real business implications as new regulations, technologies and consumer preferences transform the auto industry’s products and business models: cars are turning into tech platforms.

Despite predictions that vehicle sales will increase modestly over the next decade, consumers are expected to switch from car ownership to mobility-as-a-service, pushing both OEMs and fleets to invest in new technologies and services to diversify their offers and grow revenue.

The electric vehicle (EV) market in particular – which is at a tipping point – not only exemplifies how cars are becoming tech platforms, but is also setting a new standard for hyperconnected, seamless brand experiences.

This ongoing shift from internal combustion engine (ICE) to EVs is also creating space for new OEM entrants which, not bogged down by legacy infrastructure, can more easily offer fully digital, harmonised customer experiences.

Since EVs require new technology and knowledge, they’ve evened the playing field; traditional OEMs are now being challenged on their core competitive advantage. The rapidly increasing uptake of electric vehicles is transforming the entire automotive and mobility ecosystem by promoting even greater innovation.

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EV users need flexible, personalised insurance

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EVs might be becoming more popular, but they’re also more expensive than fuel-based cars.

One way to afford the higher cost of ownership is by leasing or renting an EV through a mobility-as-a-service brand. 

Brands can also reduce the overall cost of ownership for customers by making sure they can access the right insurance for their new vehicle – EV or not – at the right price. 

Now more than ever, insurance is a strong lever for fleets and manufacturers to boost customer acquisition, activate customer engagement and build stronger relationships with customers.

But it’s been extremely challenging for automotive players to build digital and global insurance programs – especially when there are new types of vehicles, brands and usage patterns that call for more flexibility – that they can offer at a reasonable cost.

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Discover the benefits of embedded insurance for the automotive industry → 

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OEMs are uniquely positioned to offer their own insurance due to their unique understanding of their vehicles and their tech, safety and repair costs.

They can drive down cost of ownership through innovative usage-based insurance (UBI) products, where data is collected from a customer’s car to reward them with lower rates for good driving behaviours, ultimately contributing to increased safety on the road and reducing the frequency and severity of claims.

Another way that OEM insurance programs can reduce total cost of ownership is by increasing the overall price competitiveness of insurance offers on the market. When an OEM launches their own insurance program at a competitive rate, it encourages other car insurance companies to offer better rates for those brands – ultimately benefiting the end customer.

Data collected through these programs can also provide a feedback loop on the repair costs of their vehicles, allowing OEMs to continuously improve their product design.

In the case of fleet businesses, where insurance might be mandatory, standing out from the competition means offering new types of services. One of these can be flexible insurance that enables new kinds of usage at a reasonable cost.

After all, customers are looking for cover that corresponds to their unique situation. If they’ve opted for a service that allows them to use a car when and where they want it, they expect their insurance to work the same way.

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How embedded insurance orchestration can help OEMs and mobility platforms

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New EV players have the opportunity to create fully digital insurance programs from scratch that are harmonised across geographical locations. 

Historically though, incumbents have heavily invested in building their own program and covering part of or the entire insurance value chain. 

In a traditional affinity insurance approach, OEMs and insurers often have different interests.

• OEMs are concerned about the competitiveness of premiums while insurers are looking at portfolio profitability.
• OEMs expect to steer customers to their repair network while insurers hope to keep customers in theirs in order to control costs.
• OEMs have relied on insurers to supply the right tech in order to distribute insurance in their dealerships, which makes it harder to switch insurers without implementing an entirely new solution.

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As a result, building digital and global motor affinity programs has been a challenge.

One way to do this more easily – and at scale – is by adopting an orchestration approach, i.e. overlaying current infrastructure with a digital insurance layer while leveraging your current insurance partners or captive (or sourcing new risk carriers from the market when needed).

In this way, OEMs can build on their existing insurance program while further integrating it into their digital customer journeys and ecosystem.

Essentially, an embedded insurance orchestration platform enables OEMs to take control of their insurance programs, harmonise them across regions, reduce cost and effort, and ultimately pave the way for further innovation.

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OEMs: provide insurance at the right time to drive conversion

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A crucial part of any digital insurance flow is making sure it’s offered at the right time: at the point of transaction. 

Thanks to the modular infrastructure of an embedded insurance orchestration provider, players can integrate insurance at any point in the user journey without the need for a lengthy migration process and high levels of attention from their teams.

OEMs can build their own affinity programs and strategically integrate them into their various channels and touchpoints, such as retail locations, online transactions through apps and e-commerce checkouts. 

• Enabled by insurance APIs, OEMs can offer insurance to customers directly through their online or in-app sales flow as well as allow users to manage their policies and submit claims.
• For a less tech-heavy approach, OEMs can also offer insurance by referral: they redirect customers to a landing page outside of their app or website where customers can purchase insurance. One good example of this is EV manufacturer NIO.

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Platforms: choose how to manage your fleet insurance

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Managing fleet insurance manually can be a stressful and time-consuming process, which can lead to increased operational costs.

For digital-first new mobility platforms, achieving success and profitability requires a seamless and intuitive digital user experience together with a well-developed automated infrastructure that supports operations.

At Qover, our technology enables fleets to manage their insurance program in two different ways: 

• Automated: provides complete API integration with our policy and claims API, delivering a seamless and automated policy management experience.
• Manual: provides access to an online portal where you can enter and edit vehicle information and policies at your own pace, including access to all insurance documents.

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OEMs and platforms: create a seamless customer experience across borders

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With an embedded insurance orchestration provider, OEMs and new mobility platforms can move away from fragmented, multi-local insurance programs and offer a single digital customer experience all over Europe. 

Despite the challenges, we at Qover have successfully established a ‘freedom-of-service’ structure with risk carriers and TPAs that has been approved by regulators in all European countries where we operate.

This approach enables OEMs and new mobility platforms to offer homogeneous insurance programs and experiences across multiple European countries, while making sure that the insurance packages you offer are adapted to a customer’s unique location (and their country-specific insurance rules).

It's also highly scalable, meaning we can extend existing programs to new countries in just a matter of weeks. 

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Learn more about how embedded insurance orchestration can help auto players → 

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The key to success in today’s auto market

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By making sure that simple yet personalised insurance is available at the right price at the right time, you help reduce the total cost of car ownership for your customers.

Finding the right insurance partner is crucial to success in the automotive industry, especially with the rising number of entrants in the market.

With Qover's modular technology, you can pick and choose which insurance components you need – enabling you to create an insurance program that works for you or modernise a current one. We can work with your insurance partners or captive, or source the best deal from our network of risk carriers.

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Get in touch to see how we help our partners – like NIO, Fisker, NIU, Stiilt, JustRent and more – and what we can do for your business, no matter the mobility segment.

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